


Winter Song

by queen_of_cups



Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-10-15 06:02:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17523248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queen_of_cups/pseuds/queen_of_cups
Summary: It’s in the middle of winter that forest witch Sanghyuk finds a hurt nymph in the forest and takes him home to help him get better. After all, it’s his job as the forest’s witch to help everyone living there.





	Winter Song

**Author's Note:**

  * For [moon__goddess](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moon__goddess/gifts).



> This was written for the Christine during a fic exchange and has been posted over on tumblr as well and maybe I'll find the motivation to link it at some point but we shall see. Anyway, here it is now, too! 
> 
> You can find the other stories [here](https://milky-writes.tumblr.com/). 
> 
> Title taken from the sing "Winter Song" by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson. Lemme tell you, I listened to the song a few times while writing.

Sanghyuk is really, really cold. Being the forest’s witch sadly also means that he has to go outside when it’s so horribly cold that not a single soul is seen and even the oldest trees complain about being too cold. But he has to check if everything is alright – something seems to be the matter, something is not right. He heard whispers all morning, from tree to tree, between the owls, between some of the other birds that stayed the winter: something is not right. 

Judging from the fact all the hints are very vague to put it mildly, Sanghyuk assumes something must have happened in the heart of the forest where the trees are closer together, where it’s quieter, where the magic is the strongest.

So that’s where Sanghyuk is set to go. He’s wrapped in his thickest coat the elves at the southern outskirts of the forest’s heart gave him, his hands are buried in the pockets of his coat. He’s wearing a hat made of sheep’s wool and just hopes his nose will not freeze off. He’s wearing his favorite scarf, the one his mother made him. 

Sanghyuk marches through the snow that reaches up to his calves, wondering why this couldn’t have happened in early spring. He’d have fared better with spring temperatures and a little bit of mud, really. 

As he gets deeper into the forest, there are less fairies fluttering through the air, giggling, and leaving a trail of snowflakes behind them. They like the sun and light and the deeper you get into the forest, the darker it gets, logically. Sanghyuk isn’t here that often either. He checks up on the entire forest every now and then, but this part isn’t often disturbed as few humans even get that far and reason number one why his forest is disturbed is humans being humans. 

It’s getting quieter as he walks on, the sounds muffled by the heavy snow on the trees and the lights dimmed. 

Increasingly, Sanghyuk can feel the distress radiating off the trees and the animals that live here, the stray fairies don’t seem happy either. One of them flies close to him. 

“There’s a nymph! He’s hurt! You have to help him!” She says, fluttering around his head and fussing about her pink dress. She gestures for him to follow him and starts zig-zagging off to his left throw the bushes. Sanghyuk curses quietly but hurries after her. What else can he do? Some branches snap into his face; once he gets snow directly into his collar. But in the end, he makes it to the place the fairy led him. It’s a small clearing, a little brighter with the sun shining down on them and the snow reflecting it. And in the middle, there’s a man lying in the snow, blood surrounding his leg like a macabre imitation of flower petals. 

The man who seems to be a nymph judging from his clothing and the shape of his ears, groans. Sanghyuk walks over and can quickly determine the cause for that groan – and also for the blood around him. The bear trap with its spikes deep in the man’s calf is hard to miss.

The nymph looks up when Sanghyuk comes closer. 

“Please… can you help me?” He pleads and Sanghyuk nods quickly. The man’s clothes must be soaked, and his white hair is plastered against his forehead. Sanghyuk kneels down next to him and quickly squeezes his hand once. 

“It will be fine.”

 

 

Even with the help of so much magic that Sanghyuk wonders if collapsing for the next twelve hours straight is an option, it’s still a struggle to get the nymph who goes by the name of Jaehwan back to Sanghyuk’s cottage. 

“I think it was humans, there’s been a few lately, even that deep in the forest and—oh, is that where you live? I love that,” Jaehwan says as he sees the house that’s got some rowans covered in snow on either side of the entrance and a wreath made of holly on the door itself. 

“Thank you. But we really need to get you inside. It’s really cold and I want to treat the wound properly. I don’t get how you even walked on that thing,” Sanghyuk replies and Jaehwan shrugs. 

“Those good nymph genetics. And I had help from the forest. Did its magic, ya know?” 

Sanghyuk doesn’t really _know_ but he nods regardless, also due to the fact that he has to help Jaehwan up the step and into the house. The door swings open on its own accord for which Sanghyuk is fairly grateful for once (not so much when the house lets people enter he doesn’t necessarily want to see but who still come to bother him in some way). 

“Taekwoon, can you get me a towel?” He asks his familiar, a black cat with yellow eyes who can change into a human if he feels so inclined which he strangely only does when he’s around Hakyeon. Now that he’s stopped pretending he’s only an ordinary cat; the sole reason for that pretense being so that he can lie in Hakyeon’s lap undisturbed. 

Meanwhile, Sanghyuk helps Jaehwan on the couch, making sure not to jostle his leg too much. He stopped the bleeding with a makeshift bandage, but it needs to be cleaned properly. 

It doesn’t take long for Taekwoon to return with not only a few towels but also a bowl with warm water and a cloth. 

“Bless you,” Sanghyuk says and Taekwoon doesn’t reply but changes back into a cat and jumps on Jaehwan’s stomach, curling up there like a big, black ball of comforting warmth. 

 

 

“It’s too cold,” Sanghyuk grumbles as he comes back from searching for herbs for some potions he wants to make. Jaehwan looks up from where he is sitting on the couch, his hurt leg carefully stretched out. It’s easy to see that being made to sit is not easy for him. He’s too full of energy to enjoy it. 

“But it’s beautiful! I love winter! The snow, the way some animals are curled up cozily. But especially the snow and the frost, covering everything. Like some soft blanket. The snowflakes dancing around you.” He sighs in happiness. 

“Maybe if you’re a nymph. As a witch it’s just really freezing.” He pauses. “What kind of nymph are you by the way? You haven’t told me yet.” 

Jaehwan grins cheekily. “Guess.” 

Sanghyuk rolls his eyes but indulges him, smiling, as he unwraps his scarf from his neck. 

“An oak?” he guesses. Jaehwan shakes his head. 

“Rose?” Again, that’s not it, apparently. 

“Holly?” 

“Nah, that’s not it either. I guess it was a little mean and maybe I should have introduced myself earlier. I’m the spirit of the forest. I watched from the shadows to see how well a young witch like you would do protecting my forest.” 

Sanghyuk looks at him dumbfounded, his slightly wet hat in his hand. 

“Oh,” is all he says. All he can say. Then: “It’s nice to meet you.” 

“Thanks for helping me out. Stepping into a human trap was a little embarrassing for me.” Jaehwan’s eyes crinkle cutely when he beams at Sanghyuk. “You’re doing well though.” 

Sanghyuk blushes a little and busies himself with putting his wet hat, gloves and scarf up to dry. 

 

 

“You like him,” Taekwoon says, his long legs swinging back and forth merrily from where he’s sitting on the table in the middle of what Sanghyuk likes to call his office. It’s here that he makes potions and ointment, little spells and talismans. 

“He’s nice and funny,” Sanghyuk relents and keeps chopping up the valerian root. 

“That’s not what I meant.” 

Sanghyuk knows that but he doesn’t want to discuss how he thinks Jaehwan is beautiful with Taekwoon. He’d tease him endlessly and also tell his former teacher, Hakyeon, who would fuss _and_ tease him. 

So Sanghyuk doesn’t reply and ignores how he knows Jaehwan only needs to stay a day or two more until he can walk again properly. 

 

 

“I’ll visit regularly, don’t worry. At least once a week,” Jaehwan promises as he wraps his arms around Sanghyuk, saying goodbye for now. He said he had to look after his forest. Sanghyuk understands, because that’s his job as well. 

He doesn’t want to ask whether Jaehwan would take him with him. They could do that together, right? That would be more efficient. 

“Don’t forget to visit! I’ll make the tea you enjoyed so much. And I want to check if your foot heals properly.” 

Jaehwan nods and when he reaches the trees at the end of the clearing in which Sanghyuk’s cottage is built, he turns around again and waves. 

Sanghyuk waves back. 

 

 

“I brought you flowers!” Jaehwan says happily and holds out a bunch of snowdrops out for Sanghyuk. It’s been a week since Jaehwan left and sometimes Sanghyuk was scared he had only imagined the spirit of the forest. Maybe he was going insane. But then Jaehwan stands in front of the door, beaming like the sun itself. 

Sanghyuk puts the flowers into a glass in he middle of his table in the kitchen and smiles every time he sees them. 

 

 

It’s late February when Sanghyuk notices a change in Jaehwan. His pristine white hair is… not as white as it used to be. But maybe Sanghyuk is imagining it. He surely must be. 

He focuses again on Jaehwan’s story about the humans in the forest a few days ago. 

“I let the will-o’-wisps have a little fun with them. They’re so cute when they’re happy, you know? But eventually I stopped them, and the humans went home again, thoroughly confused. They went in circles for like an hour. I don’t want them coming so close to the forest’s heart anyway.” 

 

 

A few weeks later Jaehwan’s hair is undeniably light pink when he holds out a crocus he picked for Sanghyuk. 

“Happy Spring,” he says with a smile and Sanghyuk laughs a little and accepts the flower. 

He comes by more often than only once a week now. It’s more every day now. 

 

 

“Does your hair change color?” Sanghyuk asks later as Jaehwan watches him make potions. 

The forest spirit nods. “It’s white in winter and pink in spring. It’s a warm brown in summer and turns red in autumn.” 

Sanghyuk looks at him in awe. “That’s amazing. I love that.” 

Jaehwan laughs. “Thank you. It’s been like this for as long as I can remember.”

“How did you become the spirit of the forest, if you don’t mind me asking?” 

Jaehwan shrugs and picks up one of Sanghyuk’s potion books, browsing through it. “One day, I was here, and I felt the forest like it was an extension of myself. I just knew what to do. I don’t think there’s one of those scientific explanations humans are so keen on.” 

 

 

When Jaehwan shows Sanghyuk the cherry blossoms by the river, he asks Sanghyuk about how he became the witch of the forest. 

“The old witch went away, I don’t know where. I was just done being an apprentice, so I volunteered to go here.” 

It’s here that Jaehwan first takes Sanghyuk’s hand and therefore makes his heart skip a beat. 

 

 

Their summer is spent with Taekwoon’s and, occasionally, Hakyeon’s smug glances when the witch and the forest spirit spend more time with each other. The latter pair ignore the glances and only have eyes for each other; it’s obvious for everyone around them what’s going on between them, just not necessarily for the two of them. 

Jaehwan’s hair has turned a warm brown and while Sanghyuk mourns the pink, he still thinks Jaehwan looks great with the new color as well. It gets a light bronze-ish shimmer as summer progresses. They lie in the grass in front of Sanghyuk’s cottage and eat the strawberries they picked. Jaehwan’s lips are stained red and Sanghyuk concentrates on watching the clouds in the sky once he realizes what he has noticed. 

 

 

Jaehwan’s hair turns red and autumn comes fast; at first it’s still warm, then it gets cold very fast and Sanghyuk starts getting out his favorite scarf again, one that’s green and soft and that his mother made for him. 

Jaehwan still walks on his bare feet and giggles when he jumps into puddles, getting Sanghyuk’s trousers wet. Sanghyuk chases him through half the forest in retaliation. 

“They are so in love and yet so blind,” Hakyeon says as he sits next to Taekwoon on the porch, like an old married couple, Taekwoon leaning against Hakyeon sleepily while they watch the two of them. 

“I know they are. It’s really bad to watch sometimes.” 

 

 

And then Jaehwan’s hair turns a frosty white again and Sanghyuk can barely believe it’s been a year now that he met the spirit of the forest. Somehow, the forest has been thriving during that year and neither Sanghyuk nor Jaehwan even did that much to cause that. 

Sanghyuk wonders what that is about aloud, telling Taekwoon, who just turns into a cat in annoyance and disappears to only gods know where he always goes. He is still partly a cat, after all, so it’s only natural. 

It’s really, really cold outside, again. But Sanghyuk doesn’t mind as much when he sits inside, in his cozy living room, on the couch, with Jaehwan leaning against him and holding his hand. 

“I’m glad I met you,” Jaehwan says. “Thank you for helping me, stitching me back together.” They never did find the human who put the trap; although Sanghyuk doesn’t know if it’s important: there were hardly any human interferences all year long. 

“I like helping,” Sanghyuk replies simply. “But,” he adds, “I’m also very glad I met you. My year was wonderful.” He blushes. He’s not good with feelings; it’s hard for him to express them. Magic has always been easier, has helped him _show_ how he feels. He can grow flowers, that’s his gift; the rest is craft. All the potion mixing, amulets, spells, that’s what Hakyeon taught him. 

The way he opens his hand and makes a daisy grow from his palm in the middle of winter, that’s purely Sanghyuk and nobody else. 

“It’s so cute. I love daisies, and I love when you make flowers grow,” Jaehwan says and smiles. 

Sanghyuk smiles back at him. “I know. It’s yours,” he says, and gently picks up the flower, tucks it behind Jaehwan’s ear. 

It’s quiet for a moment and then Jaehwan breaks the silence again. Silence, stillness… he doesn’t like that. Jaehwan is the spirit of a whole forest, he’s all about change and growth. 

“Let’s go outside,” Jaehwan says, and Sanghyuk agrees, but with a little sigh because he knows it’s very, very cold. 

 

 

They take a walk and it’s quiet. The snow muffles their foot steps but it scrunches under their soles. A branch breaks a few steps away from them and they see a deer hurrying away from them. Sometimes, they let them come close; it’s mostly Jaehwan they let approach them. 

“Remember the little pond I showed you last summer? With the little waterfall where we swam?” Jaehwan asks. 

Sanghyuk remembers that very well. He remembers Jaehwan splashing him with water, he remembers them giggling and lying by the side of the pond in the sun after some time. He remembers their little picnic under the summer stars and the way the frogs croaked close by. So he nods. 

The waterfall is frozen over now and Sanghyuk shudders when he thinks about the temperature the water must have now: far too cold. But still, it looks nice, the way the water is frozen over, the way the snow flakes have started falling again, are dancing over the glittering surface. 

Sanghyuk doesn’t think he’ll ever forget the way it looks, the way the cold nips at his cheeks. He doesn’t forget he will ever forget the feeling when Jaehwan turns to him, takes his hands in his and gently kisses his lips. 

“I love you, Sanghyuk,” he says, his breath warm against Sanghyuk’s lips. 

The witch’s eyes light up, his eyes crinkle as he smiles. “And I love you, Jaehwan,” he says, and he kisses the spirit of the forest again. 

And although the next spring, there’s more flowers blooming than ever, and although the summer is warm and is more beautiful than many others, and although autumn is more colorful than before, Sanghyuk still thinks he likes winter the most now.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks a lot to [Karlie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/witchvixx/) who listened to me whining about this particular fic and for adding the detail about Jaehwan's changing hair colours!!
> 
> Find me on [ tumblr](https://cryptid-taekwoon.tumblr.com/) and [ twitter](https://twitter.com/bluejinyoungism/).
> 
> Apart from that... I am still writing, I'm mostly working on a more long time thing with multiple chapters, which is pretty new to me and... I'm dying bc i just started my master's degree and apparently you actually have to work for it???? Shocked and surprised. Anyway I'm trying to publish stuff but.... I am dumb bls have mercy. 
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading <3


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